Page 62 of The Secrets She Keeps

Everything got what they deserved eventually. It was just the way the world worked. But he wanted to kill her more than he had ever wanted to kill anyone. Bitch had it coming.

“Bri took me to the park, Daddy! I made new friends. Nyra and Nyma and Maisy.”

“I told you they weren’t your friends. You’ve just met them,” Brianna told her. But there was no bite in Brianna’s tone.

She was mellowing to the kid. No surprise.

Didn’t all women come with some sort of “mommy” gene in there somewhere? Even Brianna. He looked at his sister—yeah, he supposed Brianna was a woman beneath the lizard scales and everything. To his shock, she wasn’t even ugly or anything. She and Trey even looked a little bit alike. She should probably get married, make Timothy some grandkids to occupy his time. Get him out of Trey’s hair a bit.

Hell, maybe Trey would end up being that crazy old uncle someday. Giving weird presents and farting everywhere. Far as he knew, one of his other sisters had a kid now already too. Maybe. He didn’t really keep up with them or anything. He didwonder about them sometimes, though. He hadn’t really hated them or nothing.

He was already Uncle Trey. Made a guy feel old or something.

“Just because you don’t like their family. Well, they can be my best friends in Texas if I want.” Leena wrinkled her nose and made an ugly look at Brianna.

“Who are these children?” Trey’s father asked, running a hand over Leena’s dark brown hair.

It was curling everywhere. Kid had really wild hair. Just like one of Trey’s other sisters’ had had. Like Timothy’s curled. Hell, he wondered if that little sister’s hair still curled like that. She had to be like thirty now or something. Leena did look just like that girl had. He had four more sisters out there—Trey still wondered about them sometimes. What they were like now. His little sisters hadn’t been too bad, really.

“Did you have fun?” his father asked. Like he really cared about the kid or something. Hell. Trey hadn’t spent much time with her. He didn’t feel like she was his kid sister or anything, but that was what she was. And his father loved her.

Damn.

Guess he couldn’t throw her out into rush hour traffic after all.

“Until Brianna made me leave. But they had to go eat dinner, too, so it was okay. We’ll play again next time.”

“I told her I don’t want her near those Colesons at all, Timothy. They aren’t therightkind of family,” Brianna said with a sniff.

Well, Trey agreed with her. Heather Coleson was a first-class bitch. He didn’t want her near his kid sister either.

“The Colesons?” Timothy stiffened. Yeah,Colesonwas a trigger word with Timothy. No denying that. “I see. Leena, you listen to your sister. Stay away from that family.”

“But their mommy was really, really nice. Her name is Joy. And she was very happy and very pretty too. She was singing to Nalla. Nalla is only three. But Joy has icky scars on her neck where abad guygot her and hurt her really bad. Nyma told me. Isn’t Joy a pretty name?” Leena asked. She missed the way Trey’s father tensed. But Trey didn’t. “You should marry her, and then she could be my new mommy. She is a doctor too. And really, really pretty. She has brown eyes like mine too. Like my mommy did, I think. Did my mommy have brown eyes, too, Daddy?”

Trey’s eyes met his father’s. He saw the fury there. Trey snickered.

“She did. Just like yours.”

“Yes, Daddy, you should marry JoyColeson, and she could be Leena’s new mommy. I can’t think of anything more perfect than that.” Trey smirked at his father. He was still laughing at his father’s response when his phone rang. And he learned that bastard Gunnar Erickson had struck again.

In a very big way. Fuck it all, Trey hated that man.

Trey honestly didn’t know what to do now.

40

Heather had takena screenshot of her phone. She wasn’t stupid. And this definitely wasn’t her first go-around. She had documented every threat she or her family had received since the day they had gotten her sister and Crispin back after Eastman.

Longer than that. Every text Steve had sent her, every incident of him following her. Everything. She had kept itall.

But this threat mentioned things that no one in Texas should have known about. And that meant she had no other option.

Report the threat. To the proper channels.

Starting with Daniel McKellen.

Not something she was exactly looking forward to.

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